1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible weight supporting spacer between the front wall of the main frame of a skid steer loader and a front lift arm cross member, to serve as an additional support member when the thickness of the front cross member is reduced sufficiently so a gap is formed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Skid steer loaders such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,262, are highly maneuverable self-propelled loaders which have lift arms that can be used to raise and lower loads at the front of the loaders. The loaders have operator compartments accessible from the front. The lift arms are pivoted at the rear of a main frame of the loader and extend forwardly along the sides of the operator compartment. A front cross member joins the lift arms immediately in front of the operator's compartment. The cross member is adjacent, but spaced from, a front wall of the loader main frame when the lift arms are in a lowered position. The cross member serves as an operator's step to reach the operator compartment. The cross member has to be rigid enough to serve the purpose of holding the lift arms together and to support a center mounted tilt cylinder bracket, which in turn extends rearwardly to support an end of an actuator for tilting a front mounted bucket. The tilt cylinder bracket has to clear the front wall member of the main frame. The cross member between the arms thus has been made wide (in fore and aft direction), primarily to close a gap between the frame front wall member and the cross member while serving as a step for an operator to enter the operator compartment. Reducing the size of the front cross member helps visibility of the load when the lift arms are raised during operation, and thus is desired. A narrower lift arm cross member reduces the amount of material accumulation on the cross member, but also causes a gap between the front frame wall and the cross member.
Thus the two "needs" for the lift arm cross member present conflicting demands, namely keeping the cross member small for visibility improvement and reducing accumulation of material on the cross member, while on the other hand keeping the top wall of the cross member wide for good operator footing. The spacer of the present invention helps to accommodate both needs.